Understanding how adding raised thresholds impacts road safety and speeds in local areas
This case study uses Compass Road Intelligence
Compass data was used to explore the impact of changing the speed of vehicles at a small, local retail precinct by implementing a local area traffic management (LATM) scheme within Narwee. The scheme includes new raised thresholds and a reduction to the speed limit to 40 km/h as the roads surrounding the train station and schools were regarded as High Pedestrian Activity Areas.
To determine if the introduction of these measures were effective in creating a safer place for all road users, Compass IoT compared speeds, braking, swerving and acceleration g-forces to compare traffic behaviour before and after the implementation of the scheme.
The area analysed was at the centre of the Narwee small retail precinct along Broad Arrow Road. The time period compared was 2021 and 2022.
To see if the changes had a positive effect on road users (i.e. slower speeds and lower g-forces in braking, swerving, and accelerating), the following data type was analysed:
- Median speed
- Average speed
- 85th percentile speed
- G-force
- Braking and acceleration (x-accelerometer)
- Swerving (y-accelerometer)
Using Road Intelligence to analyse the above data types, users could see an overall reduction in speeds, braking and acceleration, swerving, and g-forces.
85th percentile speed was seen to be reduced in some streets and vehicle speed reduction varied between about 6-27 km/h.
When it comes to g-forces, the closer the digit is to 0, the less severe an action is. Most locations saw a decrease in severe movements.
The Compass IoT data shows that the raised thresholds and reduction in the signposted speed limits have successfully made driver behaviour safer, providing a potential reduction in near misses and crashes, which is the main objective of a safer road system requirement.